Information or Addiction?
I have a reverence for the symbolism of “sacred images.” Certain images have a palpable power that I feel as I see them, whether or not I follow the traditions represented. I have my own sacred images that, because of associations and experiences, create a literal and objective response within me. Older, and in many ways, wiser cultures than ours have long known the power of images and were very conscious and careful of their use. Sacred objects were carefully designed and used to elicit specific responses in the mind, body, and spirit of the individual. In Buddhist cultures, long hours spent contemplating an image of the Buddha was thought, correctly, to produce a calmer, more Buddha-like inner world. Even a brief glimpse of a Buddha image was known to have an effect. The same has been true across all traditional cultures. Perhaps this is why the desert Hebrew tradition so strictly prohibited any images that would counter their more abstract ideas of deity.
When I sit in the forest with open eyes and relaxed mind, I become forest-like; complex, fecund, and green. When I watch the water bubble up from the headwaters spring of the Sacramento River, I become water-like; fluid, powerful, and unstoppable on my journey home to the sea. When I spend time looking at Internet posts, I become Internet-like; full of half-truths, opinionated, and shallow.
Just as nutrients for the body must come in a broad and complex context, so the work of the mind must occur in a broad and complex context, not in a series of isolated, incomplete, and highly-refined snippets. Processed foods provide the illusion of nutrition, giving a quick jolt of satisfaction, but leaving the body hungry for something more. This is by deliberate design on the part of the food industry. It keeps people coming back and buying more and more, yet leaving them still hungry, thus buying more yet again, leading to the most obese culture in history. “Bet you can’t eat just one!”
In the same way, media provides the illusion of information and connection, giving a quick jolt of emotional energy but leaving the mind and spirit hungry for more so we click yet another link and think we’re becoming more informed and connected, all the while becoming less educated and more isolated than ever, therefore more susceptible to manipulation and control.
Our minds are made of mystical stuff. They are sacred ground which must be entered with care, humility, and reverence for the power that inhabits them. Most of us would draw back from tossing trash on a Native American burial ground out of respect for the sacredness of the location. Why, then, do we take the sacred territory of the mind, the locus of our connection with the Tao, the Universe, and the Mystery of Life, into the arena of Facebook, Twitter, and other Internet “News?” What are we thinking?
We’re not thinking because we are addicted, deliberately hooked by economic interests as surely as kids are hooked by dealers. The gateway drug was television – exciting, entertaining, mesmerizing, and addictive. It was sold by the advertising “mules” on behalf of the “cartels” of business. We were purposefully hooked, addicted, and strung-out so that we would sink our earnings into the bottomless abyss of consumerism that can never be filled. Now we are on the “hard stuff” of Facebook, Twitter, and Internet “news.” It spews opinions, prejudices, hatreds, and distractions, presented in a format that is hypnotic, fast-paced, and screen-focused. It inserts images directly into our brains without the filters provided by natural context and our brain interprets them as “real.” It does not distinguish between the image on a screen and an actual occurrence in the direct experience of life. We tell ourselves we know the difference, but the brain itself does not. The image is there and no amount of intellectual temporizing can stop it from altering the brain. It has already done so.
I have some issues with the traditional 12-step programs, but they acknowledge a fundamental truth: we are powerless over our addiction unless we turn to a Power greater than ourselves. I have my own name for that Power – I call it Tao Mind, and it is, and will always be, the essence of who I really am. This Tao Mind, this Deep Wisdom, is potentially the awakening force of my life. This Mind alone can satisfy the hunger for belonging, connection, and awakening. It is to this power that I am dedicating my life.
Like an alcoholic who knows he should quit but easily convinces himself that the consequences of his drinking are “not that serious,” I tend to go through my life always a bit-off balance. This unstable stumbling seems benign enough, but when set against the possibility of an actual awakening to the essence of Life, it is revealed as a deadly addiction. There are not that many days left and it would be so easy to remain asleep until the Big Sleep takes me. The question: Do I want to wake before I die?
There is a political “debate” this evening. Television and the Internet will be serving up an orgy of emotion-laden images and sound bites that will fill the make-believe world of social media for the next week. No one will be convinced by any argument because no venue exists for reasoned and thoughtful presentation, let alone for any depth of wisdom. I will not be watching. I will be paying attention instead to the direct experiences of my life, as it is in the moment. I will be continuing my quest to live as I think human beings should live on this fragile planet.
Hi, my name is Bill, and I’m an addict. I’ve been sober for forty-eight hours now.
